Evaluation of Waste Anesthetic Gas in the Postanesthesia Care Unit within the Patient Breathing Zone
Joint Authors
Hiller, Kenneth N.
Altamirano, Alfonso V.
Cai, Chunyan
Tran, Stephanie F.
Williams, George W.
Source
Anesthesiology Research and Practice
Issue
Vol. 2015, Issue 2015 (31 Dec. 2015), pp.1-5, 5 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2015-11-26
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
5
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Potential health hazards from waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) have been a concern since the introduction of inhalational anesthetics into clinical practice.
The potential to exceed recommended exposure levels (RELs) in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) exists.
The aim of this pilot study was to assess sevoflurane WAG levels while accounting for factors that affect inhalational anesthetic elimination.
In this pilot study, 20 adult day surgery patients were enrolled with anesthesia maintained with sevoflurane.
Following extubation, exhaled WAG from the patient breathing zone was measured 8 inches from the patient’s mouth in the PACU.
Maximum sevoflurane WAG levels in the patient breathing zone exceeded National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) RELs for every 5-minute time interval measured during PACU Phase I.
Observed WAGs in our study were explained by inhalational anesthetic pharmacokinetics.
Further analysis suggests that the rate of washout of sevoflurane was dependent on the duration of anesthetic exposure.
This study demonstrated that clinically relevant inhalational anesthetic concentrations result in sevoflurane WAG levels that exceed current RELs.
Evaluating peak and cumulative sevoflurane WAG levels in the breathing zone of PACU Phase I and Phase II providers is warranted to quantify the extent and duration of exposure.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Hiller, Kenneth N.& Altamirano, Alfonso V.& Cai, Chunyan& Tran, Stephanie F.& Williams, George W.. 2015. Evaluation of Waste Anesthetic Gas in the Postanesthesia Care Unit within the Patient Breathing Zone. Anesthesiology Research and Practice،Vol. 2015, no. 2015, pp.1-5.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1053946
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Hiller, Kenneth N.…[et al.]. Evaluation of Waste Anesthetic Gas in the Postanesthesia Care Unit within the Patient Breathing Zone. Anesthesiology Research and Practice No. 2015 (2015), pp.1-5.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1053946
American Medical Association (AMA)
Hiller, Kenneth N.& Altamirano, Alfonso V.& Cai, Chunyan& Tran, Stephanie F.& Williams, George W.. Evaluation of Waste Anesthetic Gas in the Postanesthesia Care Unit within the Patient Breathing Zone. Anesthesiology Research and Practice. 2015. Vol. 2015, no. 2015, pp.1-5.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1053946
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-1053946